Currently, there is a need for a simple and quick device to immobilize an appendage of a patient in surgery or in an X-ray facility. In surgery, with many doctors, nurses and technicians of an operating team already in attendance, it is desirable to immobilize the appendage of a patient without the aid of someone in the operating team who possibly interferes with or is taken away from other tasks during an operation. In an X-ray facility, the hazards of exposure to X-rays dictate the need for a device to immobilize an appendage so an X-ray technician does not need to be in close proximity to the patient being X-rayed.
Several techniques have been developed to immobilize an appendage of a patient's body. A leg positioning device including a pair of adjustably spaced leg support means for X-ray examination of the leg is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,681. A device for clamping a human limb in a fixed position during X-ray examination, including a generally U-shaped clamp assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,297. A device which varies the space between a series of pillows to accommodate a baby's head which is comprised of a pair of head cushions adjustably mounted via screws is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,718. However, the problem with each of these immobilizing devices is that they do not afford a simple and quick procedure to immobilize an appendage and at the same time have the ability to adapt to the different sizes of the same appendages of different patients as well as to the different appendages themselves.